Succession row: A section pushes for YSR's son

4 Sep 2009, ET Bureau


NEW DELHI: A succession row sparked off in Andhra Pradesh within hours of chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy being declared dead. Officially, Chopper mystery
Congress has refused to entertain questions on the succession issue, postponing it till the mourning period is over.

The hunt for a successor to Y S R Reddy is unlikely to be easy. There is apprehension that ugly factionalism, which marked the Andhra Pradesh unit of Congress in the pre-YSR days, is likely to rear its head again. Some leaders fear that the absence of YSR’s iron hand will turn the clock back for the AP Congress.

Already a sizeable section of the state unit is claiming the state’s top job for YSR’s son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, whose tenure in politics is just about 100-day old. Other names doing the rounds include those of Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy, Union minister of state for HRD D Purandeshwari and PCC chief D Srinivas.

In a bid to maintain order for the time being, state finance minister K Rosaiah was sworn in as the caretaker chief minister on Thursday. Keeping the final decision in abeyance, state AICC in-charge Veerappa Moily described Mr Rosaiah’s appointment as an “interim arrangement”. Mr Rosaiah’s name as the interim chief minister was cleared by the Congress high command.

Part of the problem that the Congress high command faces in selecting a suitable successor to YSR is the absence of powerful second rung of leaders in the state. The late chief minister brought in stability in the APCC by marginalising important and older leaders in the state. Leaders like Janardhan Reddy were over the time sidelined.

Given that a vast majority of the Andhra legislators were handpicked by YSR, there is a strong interest in maintaining status quo situation and they are batting for his son. This demand was reiterated when Mr Rosaiah met with the members of YSR’s cabinet shortly after being sworn in. It would appear that nearly 10 ministers were of the view that since YSR’s successor should be “a person who thinks on his lines and cares for the poor”, his son would be the best bet.